We still have a little under a month to go until the official start, but I think it’s time for us all to start getting better acquainted. As you may already know, this is my first time GMing a PbP game, and I’m pretty inexperienced at face to face play as well. As such, I’m likely to make mistakes. If I do, please let me know. It’s the only way I’ll learn. ;)

Normally, I would only make one major post a day along with a few quicker ones to keep combat flowing. However, I'm a little concerned about time for this gameday, so I'll be running this game a little faster and hope that y'all will be willing to keep up with a couple of posts a day if needed.

How I track combat:

I roll initiative for everyone at the start of combat and will post the results in a list that looks like this:

Here Players A, B, C, and D can post there actions, Players E and F cannot. The players can post in any order (Player B does not have to wait for Player A post, for example) and once everyone has posted, I will resolve all the actions in initiative (not post) order. The numbers in brackets represent the amount of damage a character has taken in this combat and is not the actual hp for each character. Once Players A, B, C, and D have posted, I will resolve Baddie A's action and the initiative tracker will look like this:

Now all the players can post and I will resolve all the actions in initiative order as before.

I will try to resolve combats in initiative order because I know some people invest quite a bit to ensure that their character goes first. However, I understand that it may be difficult for to keep things running smoothly (setting up flanks for example) and I may have to start resolving in post order if everybody agrees it’s for the best.

Feel free to talk amongst yourselves, and once you've decided on which characters y'all wish to play, please make sure to fill out the table on slide 3. It will give me important information for chronicle sheets and general play. Thank you.

And finally, the gameplay thread is open for dotting. If everybody is as impatient as me, we may even be able to start a bit earlier. Have fun everybody! If you have any questions, just post here or PM me and I'll answer as soon as possible :)

A rusty old robot steps out from a dusty corner of a dark room "I am Bot Buddy SH-13LD." It says in a mechanical, emotionless voice "If you disappear, I will emulate you. However, I am not programmed to do…” The whirring of gears increases as Bot Buddy searches for the right word ”Imaginations... As such, it is in your best interests that I am activated as seldom as possible... That is all." He then steps back into the dark corner and powers down.

Whirrrrrr.... Click....
________________________________

Botting Policy

Bot Buddy SH-13LD will be activated under the following circumstances:

It's combat, and 24 hours have passed;

The group needs a skill check from you, and 24 hours have passed;

You tell me that you will be gone for a few days, and ask me to bot you.

I prefer not to bot, but I also want the game to keep moving. If I do bot you, it will likely be minimal. Please consider adding a 'Bot me' spoiler to your character profile (an example of which is in the profile of this alias), it'll help me to make appropriate choices. I will not use any non-renewable resources except in dire situations.

This would be low-tier right? I have a couple of options (a grippli gunslinger or a nagaji uc monk) immediately available. If we wait till a week more (I estimate), I'll have a support shaman available as well. So depends on what the party needs.

Xynen here: I am 90% sure the game that this guy is currently wrapped up in will be ending soon, however if everyone else checks in and is ready to go I'll just roll up a new PFS character so we can get started, I'll dot for now but will save filling in slide 3 until I know exactly who I'm taking.

Hi again. I need to create a new character for that game, and I'd probably like to go with a halfling U summoner with a mount Eidolon. Except if the common thought would be that we still need something healer-oriented (fifth player originally announced to play a Skald), in which case I'd go for a cleric.

I'm not sure if a healer-oriented character is strictly necessary. As long as y'all have a few potions between you and perhaps some UMD skills, you should be fine in most scenarios, I think. And, Xynen, we can wait a little longer if you want to play as Selmy. I don't want to rush you into playing a character you don't want ;)

Checking in with my halfling summoner. Still have to add the stats to the sheet, but starting at wednesday would be fine with me, only that I have a 24 hour shift at the hospital I work and won't return before thursday morning (CET) and I probably won#t be able to post from work

Howdy folks! With the first combat complete, I am wondering what y'all think about the whole resolve in order of initiative or posts thing?

I'm now thinking that resolving in post order will be better in the long run. Would any of you mind if I switched to that method from the next combat onwards? I think it would allow me to resolve some of the posts as they come in, helping y'all decide what to do next, and generally make things run smoother. I just really wanted to try the old fashioned method first to see what it was like.

Howdy folks! With the first combat complete, I am wondering what y'all think about the whole resolve in order of initiative or posts thing?

I'm now thinking that resolving in post order will be better in the long run. Would any of you mind if I switched to that method from the next combat onwards? I think it would allow me to resolve some of the posts as they come in, helping y'all decide what to do next, and generally make things run smoother. I just really wanted to try the old fashioned method first to see what it was like.

Lol! I went through the same thing as a GM. Started with init order but eventually shifting to post order instead. :) Actually, as a player, I don't think I mind either way. But I did find it easier to manage as a GM going by post order since I just resolve them as they came.

I like initiative order because people with low initiative rolls can often find themselves obsolete in combat if they also happen to be slower posters, but I recognize how post order speeds things up, so I'm fine with either option.

Same with Untir here. I'm working with group initiative in my own games and resolve a given group's posts mostly in post order. So I'm fine with both, but going by initiative alone can seriously slow a game down if you have to wait for a single player before game can continue.

I think you skipped Black Crow. If Black Crow is riffing, add 2 to Hit and 3 to damage (Skald's inspired rage activates Barbarian's and Bloodragers class rage for free).

I haven't skipped Black Crow (they are at the top of the combat tracker), but we may be seeing what Selmy was talking about. Because of the time difference, me posting a new round of actions when I did may put them behind in the combat while resolving in post order. So now I'm wondering if a happy medium can be achieved somehow... Maybe I shouldn't roll over the rounds in future combats so that players with lower initiative rolls don't feel they have missed a turn?

P.S. Thanks for the heads up about activating your rage, I totally missed that last time.

I personally feel it's fine, so long as when we post, we clarify beforehand some triggers, conditions, etc. For example, what Sidi is effectively intending is to delay until after Black Crow has gone, and if he activates raging song, Sidi will accept, then attack.

An analogy would be how in face-to-face game, even when we follow initiative order, we often would discuss among ourselves to delay for each other to various tactical purposes.